Under the Stars
by MikoGoddess
Summary: A cliched bit of angsty fluff. Sorry for lack of originality. The gang is back at Destiny Islands, and Sora can't get Riku out of his mind. His only problem is...how to [and should he] let Riku know? [oneshot SoRiku]


Disclaimer: No I don't own it. If I did then KH2 probably would've had a tad more than just 'implied' Soriku.

A/N: Well, as the summary says, this is just a super-clichéd overdose of fluffy (and I guess a bit angsty) goodness.

Attention! For those that might be reading Shadowed Conviction…I'm not dead I promise! For a while I wasn't writing because I got involved with ragnarok online again…but now, I seem to have misplaced my flashdrive. Half of chapter 5 is written (about 10 pages so far I think) but I need to find that flashdrive again to finish it. ::sobs:: it's got all my stories on it. Anyway this is basically what came out of my writing deprivation. So enjoy!

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Sora sat staring silently out at the vast ocean before him. He leaned casually against a palm tree of the small island that connected to the main, watching but not seeing the waves lap gently against the small cliff-like walls. His posture looked as if he might drift to sleep at any moment, but his mind was as far from sleep as it could be.

It had only been two weeks since the three children's triumphant return to their home, Destiny Islands, and Sora's mind still would not let him rest. His body would not let him relax, as the instincts he had gained on his journey were now strongly set within him. But most of all, his heart would give him no peace of mind, as it longed dearly for the one person Sora was sure he could never have. At least…not like that. Never like that. They had always been the best of friends, and of course it was to remain that way.

With a heavy sigh, Sora let his head fall back against the trunk of the tree, turning his blank stare to the heavens and watching as the clouds began to tint with gold and pink as the sun started its journey beyond the horizon.

In the past two years, he had accomplished so much. He grew from a naïve boy from a far-away island to a very matured young man. He had been through countless battles, traveled thousands of miles, encountered things that had plagued his sleep with nightmares, and yet emerged victorious. Many gifts had been sent to him by the kingdoms and worlds he saved; so many were appreciative of what he had done for them.

So why did it feel as if he had accomplished nothing?

Never had there been a moment in his journey where his heart was not clenched with worry. First it was Kairi, his long-time crush and one of two very best friends. He somehow stumbled his way through the heartless, inexperienced as he was, and managed to get her back.

And then…then there was Riku. His betrayal during Sora's first trip off the islands had cut him deeper than any blade ever could. He didn't understand it then, that feeling of utter despair as he had been forced to fight the possessed Riku in Hollow Bastion. He knew now of course, why it had been so devastating to his young mind. But it was as those great doors closed upon the steeled expression of aquamarine eyes that Sora realized how much Riku really meant to him. And that was when he redoubled his efforts, and threw his very soul into the single goal of saving Riku from whatever oblivion he had been damned to.

His reuniting with Riku was, in his mind, the happiest moment of his life. For the longest time, Sora focused only on getting stronger. He just _had_ to so that he could free Riku. But the more time passed with no sign of his silver-haired friend, the more doubt managed to nest itself in his mind, until he was warring within himself whether he would or would not be able to find his friend. Thus when he finally was reunited with Riku again, the sheer relief had overwhelmed him. He had felt his best friend's presence, could see his smile without seeing it, and felt his knees go weak as the tears began streaming down his face. How long had he waited, just to hear that voice, to look into those eyes that always seemed to see into his very soul?

The sound of crunching leaves and a rock being kicked by careless feet snapped Sora out of his reverie. Acting purely on instinct, as his brain hadn't had the time to catch up with the rest of his body yet, he jumped to his feet and spun around, calling Ultima to his hand and brandishing it at the intruder.

Silver eyebrows rose in surprise, but his casual demeanor never faltered, and Riku's hands stayed defiantly in his pockets.

It took Sora only a few seconds to realize just who was standing in front of him, and he immediately banished the Keyblade from sight, blushing impressively. "R-Riku! Sorry you…you surprised me…" He averted his gaze to the ground beside his feet and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. His stomach did a little flip, something that always seemed to happen around Riku now. How was it possible he could face the most evil of men with confidence, and yet he could barely look his own best friend in the eye? Finally he lifted his eyes to gaze up through his bangs, and saw Riku with a typical half-smirk tugging at his lips.

"It's alright, Sora. I don't think any of us have quite gotten used to the quiet life of the islands again just yet."

Sora grinned sheepishly in return. But the smile quickly faded as he remembered all that Riku had gone through…all that shouldn't have happened…and…

"Don't go there, Sora." The tone was sharp, and Sora looked up quickly in surprise.

"What…?" he asked, not quite sure what Riku meant, as he hadn't been about to move anywhere.

"That look on your face…just, don't think about it. Brooding is my job, remember?" He tried a bit of light humor, and a small smile touched at Sora's lips.

With a sigh, Sora again directed his gaze toward the ocean. "I know Riku, I just…"

"No more apologizing either."

Sora blinked in surprise. When had he become so predictable? Or maybe it was just Riku that knew him so well? Then again, he had been apologizing an awful lot lately…maybe Riku was just anticipating it since it happened every time the two talked.

"You looked lonely out here, hope you don't mind…" Riku started, waving a hand vaguely through the air in front of him. It was a rather obvious subject change, but a welcomed one nonetheless.

Sora's eyes widened a bit, and he felt himself blush slightly again, much to his own annoyance. "Oh, no! Of course not! I was just…thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," Riku commented with a slight smirk and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Sora thought it looked rather fetching on the silver-haired teen.

"Har, har" Sora muttered with a half-hearted glare in his friend's direction.

Riku chuckled in response and walked over to Sora, ruffling his hair before sitting down and propping himself against the same tree Sora had been under earlier. Sora soon followed, and sat against the tree also, so that their shoulders touched. The brunette reveled in the small amount of contact, and sighed contentedly as he closed his eyes and once more let his head rest against the tree.

Neither was sure how long they sat there, watching in silence as the sun set and the stars began to make their appearance in the darkening sky. It was strange to Sora, how they could sit for what might have been hours without saying a word, and yet not a moment was spent in uncomfortable silence. There was an understanding between the two boys forged through experiences that brought them so much closer than most could ever hope to be. After the sun had set, the brunette yawned widely, and his head dropped to the side onto Riku's shoulder. It was much softer than the tree, he idly noted. His eyes, which had closed in relaxation, snapped open again as he felt Riku's head rest atop his own. Soft silver strands spilled onto his neck, and Sora sighed as he closed his eyes again, deciding to simply enjoy this moment while it lasted.

As it turns out, that moment wasn't very long. "Sora…Sora, look."

The smaller boy grumbled incoherently as Riku lightly shook his shoulder. He had just been falling asleep, too…the shaking became more insistent and he finally snapped back awake. "Alright, alright I'm up! Whaddya want?" he declared dazedly, and Riku chuckled.

"Sora, you goof, look." Riku pointed to the sky, and Sora gasped as he followed the other boy's gaze. Hundreds of stars were streaking across the sky, leaving bright trails as they plummeted to the earth.

"Wow…" Sora whispered, awestruck by the sudden meteor shower. Even after all the places he'd been, and all the things he'd seen, he was still able to appreciate simple beauty such as this.

"Make a wish," Riku whispered, sounding much closer to his ear than he'd been before. Sora jumped slightly and looked over, but Riku had already pulled away, and was watching him with a small smile.

Swallowing nervously, Sora nodded and looked back towards the sky. What did he want more than anything in the world? It took him no time at all to come up with that answer. What he wanted most was sitting right beside him. _I wish…I could tell you how I feel. _He thought sadly, watching the soft expression in his best friend's striking green eyes.

Suddenly the moment was shattered as a much higher voice carried across the beach. "Riku! Sora!" Kairi waved excitedly as she ran across the beach toward them.

The two boys jumped and shot apart, and Sora was amazed to realize he had been moving towards Riku. Surely he hadn't been about to kiss him…? He blushed furiously and darted his eyes toward the ground, rubbing his arm nervously.

Riku shook his head and cleared his throat before looking up, and raised a hand in greeting to the third part of their trio. Sora pouted at Riku's ability to act perfectly calm under any situation, which earned him a smirk from the taller teen, as if the silveret had read his thoughts. Sora stuck his tongue out at the boy and then, as he felt the blush fade, turned around to face Kairi as well.

He forced a smile onto his lips as he also waved. It wasn't that he hated the girl…he just really hated her timing at the moment. He felt that Riku was slipping through his grasp once again, like water through his fingers.

"Hey boys!" Kairi greeted cheerfully, and more quietly than before, as she approached them. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, indicating the sky and seemingly quit oblivious to the sort of turmoil she had just walked in on. She sat cross-legged on a large rock set in the ground near them, and leaned back on her hands to stare up at the sky.

Riku tilted his head upwards again. "Yeah…it is," he muttered, though his thoughts weren't necessarily focused on the stars above them. Silence fell over the small island once again, and Sora felt decidedly uncomfortable. Had Riku noticed what he was about to do? Would he hate him if he knew just how much Sora longed for merely a simple kiss? A sudden stinging reached his eyes, and Sora was surprised to find himself fighting back tears. So many times he had been told how strong his heart was; so why did it feel so weak now?

Abruptly Sora stood, startling his two companions. "I…I gotta go," he muttered and turned around, walking quickly across the bridge back to the main island without glancing back. He knew it was probably a stupid thing to do, as his two friends would now be worried about him, but he had to leave. The realization of what he had almost done, coupled with a conflicting relief and regret that he hadn't done it, were wreaking havoc upon his mind.

His feet carried him automatically to his home, directly up the stairs and into his room. Slowly he sank down onto his bed, wondering what sort of mess he'd gotten himself into, and wondering how he was going to get out. He couldn't pretend so easily now. Each time he was around Riku, it became harder and harder to refrain from simply wrapping his arms around the taller boy and never letting go. Because every time, he fell just a little bit more in love. Finally the tears broke the barrier and trailed down his cheeks.

Curling up into a slight ball, Sora buried his face in his hands, clutching fistfuls of hair as if to ground himself in some way. He didn't want to cry…he always thought it was stupid to waste your time complaining about your misery instead of doing something to fix it…but this time he felt there was simply nothing to be done. He figured in the end it would probably be Riku and Kairi that ended up together or something. He had to let these feelings go, but the more he thought about doing so, the more it hurt and the more he cried.

It was probably some five minutes later that the door to his room creaked open, admitting a silhouette created by the moon into his room. Not that that made it hard to tell who it was of course. The tall form and silver hair was unmistakable. That didn't stop Sora from gasping softly in surprise. Maybe he should've locked the front door? He furiously tried to wipe the tears away with his sleeve, but he knew it was pointless.

Riku's expression changed quickly from extreme worry to gentle caring as Sora sniffled and tried to hide evidence that he'd been crying. It was a bit disheartening to see such a normally cheerful boy succumb to tears. Softly he padded over to the bed, and sat down in front of the stressed brunette. "Sora…" he started, but the boy cut across his words quickly.

"Where's Kairi?" he asked, probably making the question sound a bit meaner than intended. His eyes were fixed firmly outside, as he couldn't look into Riku's eyes.

Riku blinked in surprise, but kept his own voice soft as he answered. "She's still at the beach. Why, would you prefer her to come instead?" The tone was light, but Sora heard the underlying hurt beneath the words and hoped fervently, even against better judgment, that it might just be jealousy.

"No," Sora whispered in reply.

"Do you want me to leave…?" Riku asked, tentatively, as if afraid of the answer.

Sora took a moment longer to answer this one. "No…" he finally answered in an even smaller whisper than before.

"What's wrong, Sora? Why did you run off like that?"

Sora hiccuped and felt fresh tears run down his cheeks. "It's stupid," he murmured, quite ashamed of himself for not being able to control these emotions. He was a guy for crying out loud! It was a girl's job to be this emotional! Then he felt a hand on his chin, and his face was pulled gently to the side so that he was forced to look at Riku. The genuine care he found in those eyes made him fall in love all over again.

"It can't be stupid if it's got you this upset."

That was Sora's undoing. He broke down into sobs once more, hating the way he was acting and yet unable to do anything about it.

Riku was momentarily stunned, but he quickly snapped out of it. He reached out and gathered Sora into his arms, pulling the smaller boy into his lap. Immediately Sora's hands fisted in his vest, and he buried his face in Riku's neck. "Please don't torment me, Riku."

The silver-haired teen blinked in surprise. Torment…? "Why would I do that, Sora?" he asked, the confusion evident in his voice. Sora's answer didn't help his understanding.

With a voice tight from tears and choked through the effort of restraint, Sora started trying to explain exactly what it was he was feeling; both to himself and to Riku. "I feel like I'm going to wake up…and realize everything has been a dream. Every time I wake up in the morning…I'm so scared you're not going to be there. That you're going to be lost again…that I still have to fight. I couldn't bear it if I lost you again Riku…" his voice dropped to a whisper so that Riku had to strain to hear it. "I don't know what I'd do without you…"

The raw emotion in Sora's voice made Riku feel as if he should be crying too. He took a deep breath, and slowly fell sideways until they were lying down, with Sora's back pressed against his chest.

"I was stupid back then, Sora. Naïve." He closed his eyes against the memories of the darkness that once consumed him. "I allowed myself to be led astray. But you saved me Sora. It was your voice that called to me; that found me when I couldn't even find myself." Riku was surprised by his own words. Since when had he become so…sentimental? But then…it did seem to be helping Sora calm down, as the boy was now just sniffling and hiccuping occasionally. "I'll never leave you Sora; never again. And that's a promise."

Sora swallowed thickly and turned around, blushing at just how intimate this position was. His hands reached up to lightly trace the fine features of Riku's face.

Eyelids fluttered closed as soft fingertips traced his forehead, eyebrows, nose and lips. Riku let out a contented sigh, and buried his nose in Sora's hair before pulling back to look into the bright blue eyes staring back at him. With a quick silent prayer that he wasn't reading the expression wrong, he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against the other boy's.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise at the contact. Surely he really was dreaming now. Tentatively, as if afraid Riku would disappear with any sudden movements, he responded into the kiss. It lasted only a few moments, but Sora was sure they were the happiest of his entire life. When they pulled apart, his eyes shone, and a slow grin was spreading across his face.

Riku smiled and pecked the other boy's lips once more. "There's that Sora smile," he said with a small smile of his own. "Is that why you were so upset? You…thought I'd leave?"

Sora blushed and turned his head more toward the pillow beneath his head. "Partly. I mean…I am always afraid that this isn't real, but, deep down I know it's over, you know? But mostly the reason I was so upset…is that I can't fight my own feelings anymore. Feelings for someone that couldn't love me back…"

Riku's brow furrowed slightly, and he unwrapped one arm from around Sora's waist to turn the boy's chin towards him again. "And who is that, Sora?" When Sora looked unsure and hesitated, Riku smiled gently and said, "Come on, you can tell me. Best buds, right?"

Sora gave a weak grin, but it fell and his expression turned serious as he answered. "You, Riku. The person I love more than anything…it's you." After his confession, Sora blushed crimson and again buried his face into the pillow.

He quickly looked up again though as Riku started laughing. It started as a light chuckle, which slowly grew until he was clutching his own stomach with laughter. Sora sat up and his expression changed from surprised, to confused, to mildly affronted in quick succession. "It's not funny…" he muttered dejectedly, and Riku immediately sobered at the tone.

"I know it's not, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the irony of the situation. For a long while now I've been contemplating on whether I should tell you of my own feelings, but I was sure you wouldn't want me…not like that. Especially after all I've done to you…so to hear you say that, I guess it's just such a relief that I couldn't help but laugh." He finished his speech with a sort of sheepish grin, and Sora grinned back with tears in his eyes; only this time they were happy ones.

"So you-…?"

"Love you too, yes."

Sora's smile was so wide it could have split his face in two; at least, that's what it seemed to Riku. The brunet collapsed back on top of Riku's chest, hugging the boy tightly. "I feel so stupid now…" he mumbled, thinking of all the time he'd spent moping about a love he thought was never to be.

"Don't think about it now," Riku admonished, then added in a lighter tone, "What do you say we go to Twilight Town tomorrow? Get some ice cream, explore the city, maybe wreak some havoc, just make a day of it!"

Sora grinned and looked up, his eyes sparkling. "Like a date?"

"No, not _like_ a date…_a_ date."

Sora giggled at that and nuzzled Riku's shoulder, (where his head currently rested) and let out a contented sigh. He felt lighter than he had in a long, long time. Maybe true happiness wasn't such a long shot for him after all.

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I always have such a hard time with one-shots. And this one could possibly have more added to it. Depends on the response, and if any good ideas were to come to me I guess. Anyways, tell me what you thought! ::goes off to look for flashdrive::


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